Equality and Diversity

We provide a safe and supportive environment which values individuals equally, regardless of:

•  Age
•  Sex
•  Disability
•  Race
•  Gender reassignment
•  Marriage / Civil partnership
•  Religion or belief
•  Sexual orientation or re-orientation
•  Pregnancy and maternity

The college is home to people from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds with diverse beliefs, values and abilities. We aim to meet the needs of all individuals and encourage them to share their experiences and beliefs.

We welcome students with learning difficulties and disabilities and support them according to their needs. If you feel you need support with learning when you come to college, we can arrange an interview with our Learning Support team. Assessment will be treated discreetly and in confidence.

We work collaboratively with a range of employers , community organisations and other partners to tackle social exclusion, address discrimination and promote community cohesion.

Askham Bryan College is responsive to the needs and diversity of the local communities it serves and the success of all our students are at the heart of everything we do.

We want everyone to feel comfortable and secure enough to be themselves; we do not tolerate harassment, bullying, victimisation or discrimination.

Askham Bryan College remains committed to educating our students and our staff to reject racism or prejudice in any form.

We pledge to continue to champion that commitment and promote equality, diversity and inclusivity through our staff development programmes, content in our curriculum and in all our communications.

We are a learning organisation; our mission statement “Learning is in Our Nature” applies not only to our land-based passions, but to human rights and equality in our community.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy reflects the ethos of the college in relation to the protected characteristics as described by the Equality Act 2010, This document is available online within our Key Policies section.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Objectives

Askham Bryan College is committed to equality of opportunity, ensuring everyone is treated fairly regardless of age, disability, gender, race or any other protected characteristic. Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion is demonstrated by the following objectives:

For staff

• We will conduct a comprehensive Gender Pay Gap Analysis on an annual basis with a view to publicise in line with statutory requirements and produce an Action Plan to address any surfacing anomalies.
• We will produce a standard suite of staff equality data reports to be presented to SMT at regular intervals and to Corporation annually, along with an action plan to address any anomalies which the reports identify
• We will commission a series of training interventions for recruiting managers aimed at combatting unconscious bias in the staff recruitment process
• We will pay all College-employed apprentices at or above the national living wage rather than national apprenticeship rates. The aim is to ensure those opportunities are accessible to the widest possible range of candidates and to contribute to social mobility.

For students

• We will strive to narrow gaps in headline success rates between different groups of students
• We will work to increase participation and retention of learners in gender stereotypical curriculum areas
• We will strive to ensure that student satisfaction rates, as evidenced through student surveys, are as high for students with protected characteristics as those without

For all

• We will constantly listen to our students and staff – promoting an open culture and collaborative culture amongst our students, staff and other partners.
• We will embed best practice in equality, diversity and inclusion and social mobility for our staff and students to enable and support their success irrespective of their background.
• We will increase the profile of, and resources available to, the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee to address core areas of the EDI work plan.

Key policies and guidance:

EDI committee Terms of Reference – updated March 2023

EDI Annual Report 2021-22

Assistance Dogs

See other related policies and documents